Free
by yamiduke13
Summary: Experiment Thirteen was finally free and he was never going back. AU.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Spider-Man or the Avengers.

The young boy, he was almost eight, though he didn't look it, watched the metal door of his room. It wouldn't stop him; he was escaping today and no one would keep him here anymore. The White Coats all thought he was weak but he wasn't; he was strong. He was going to get away and then there would be no more injections, no more pain.

The White Coats thought they knew everything about him, to them he was just experiment thirteen, but they didn't. He had kept secrets; he was good at that. They didn't know what he was capable of.

Experiment Thirteen took a deep breath as the door opened. It wasn't one of the usual White Coats which gave him an advantage. They would look at him and see a miracle; the first one to survive the tests. They wouldn't see a boy, or see that he was smarter than he acted.

He got up to meekly follow the man. There was completely silence as they walked but the experiment wasn't surprised; they only talked to him when they were giving orders. Thirteen had held back during the many tests, that way they wouldn't know how strong he was, but now he used a little more of his strength to break his bindings. He kicked the white coat in the knee, grabbed his key card and ran.

The young boy had spent practically his whole life living, if you could call it that, in the labs and he knew where to go. He ducked into a camera's blind spot and then quickly moved into a side room.

Thirteen didn't know what the tingling sensation was but it was very handy. He had first felt it when they had been about to inject him with something. This jarring feeling had appeared in his head which resulted in him attempting to pull away; he couldn't of course and the needle broke his skin. Later he discovered that they had given him a mild poison; not something that would kill him but was very painful. They had wanted to see how his body handled it and took notes while he curled up on the ground and tried not to puke.

After that he had quickly figured out the feeling occurred whenever something bad was going to happen; he felt it a lot.

The boy waited behind the door as he heard several people run by. Once the footsteps had died down he started moving again. He was careful to stay out of view of the cameras. He was nearly at the exit doors when an alarm started to ring and he cursed. He had learned the swear word from a white coat; the man had said it when Thirteen had bitten him. The boy had regretted it since the action had resulted in a broken arm.

He skidded to a stop in front of the door and swiped the car. There was a moment, where he worried it wouldn't work, before the door opened and he lunged through.

Here he was at a disadvantage as he didn't know the area anymore; he had never been brought here. There was no sciency stuff and instead a lot of desks and confused looking people. He quickly picked a direction and ran; the boy ducked through a door and found himself in a hall. At the end was a door with a large exit sign of it. Thirteen stared at it in disbelief; surely that was a trap, but hearing running from behind him he knew he didn't have a choice. The experiment ran forward, pushed the door open, and stood blinking in the bright light of outside.

Thirteen could dimly remember sunshine from before he had been given away but it had been a long time ago and he didn't have time to enjoy the warmth as he knew the guards would follow him out. The boy looked around and his eyes lit up when he saw some stairs. They started halfway up the wall so he would half to jump, and the moment he did he saw that he had misjudged the height. He hit the wall instead; to his surprise he stuck there and he wasted a few precious seconds in shock before he quickly started climbing.

The boy rolled over the edge onto the roof and collapsed back. He could hear the guards searching the ally and finally allowed himself to relax; his body was starting to hurt now that he had stopped moving cause while he might be stronger than other people he was still a kid.

Thirteen waited, enjoying the sun on his face, until it started to go down and things quieted. He couldn't hear the guards anymore so he slowly climbed back down towards the ground. The streets were mostly empty now and he stopped to gawp at the buildings. The few people still out were staring at him though so he quickly hurried on.

The boy decided the first thing he needed was new clothes; the rags he was wearing would call too much attention. They had been white once but were darker now, stained with his blood and sweat. There were cuts and holes all over too, he was starting to shiver, for needles and tubes; he would be happy to never see them again.

Thirteen started down the street; his head kept turning side to side as he tried to look at everything. The buildings near him had a lot of stuff in them but as he moved on they started to look nicer; they didn't have the large windows anymore and seemed to be warmer. It was near one of these buildings that he found some bags with a sign. There were words on it but the boy had never learned to read.

His eyes lit of and the bags were opened quickly. Most of the clothes didn't fit him but he found some stretchy black pants that were fairly warm. After more digging he found a blue shirt with some sort of animal on it as well as some more writing.

There was even a thicker shirt, red, that he pulled on over the smaller one; he was feeling much warmer now and started walking again. Thirteen wanted to get as far away from the labs as possible. He was starting to feel tired too; not surprising considering all the running he had been doing plus the lack of food. The White Coats had decided they wanted to see how much food he needed to function. His stomach growled and he shushed it; he couldn't see any food around so he ignored the pain and climbed back onto a roof. The young boy felt safer up high above the streets and it seemed like a good place to rest.

The wind started blowing and Thirteen shivered. He was used to the cold; the White Coats hadn't kept his room very warm but the wind was new to him. He quickly found some shelter behind a small building. The young boy wasn't sure why it was on top of a roof but he wasn't going to complain. He had briefly considered going inside but it seemed small and he was through with small spaces.

The boy hadn't actually planned on sleeping, not in this strange new world, but his escape combined with the relief of being free and lack of food had weakened him. When he opened his eyes again the sun was shining and he basked in the warmth. He decided he was never going inside again.

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I have looked this over so many times and am still not a hundred percent certain of it. What do you guys think? I thought i'd try a different style since I'm writing a younger character and I'm not sure what I think of it. Do you think I should keep trying or revert back to my old style? Either way I hope you enjoy this; it will be an AU where the Avenger's don't know each other, not yet at least haha, and don't have powers either. Originally I had Thirteen being able to read but after some awesome advice I decided to change it. For those who are interested the shirt says Here comes trouble. Opinions are appreciated. This is rated mature for flashbacks.

Also I am almost finished the next chapter for Complications.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Spider-man or the Avengers

He only got to bask in the heat for a couple seconds before the sounds hit him. Thirteen quickly slammed his hands over his ears in pain; he had never heard so much noise before. The White Coats had been quiet, the only real noises were when they talked or the sounds of the different machines they used. It had been nothing like this. It took a while for him to release his ears and stand up. The boy hurried to the edge of the roof and looked down. He couldn't believe his eyes; there were people everywhere.

Thirteen had never seen so many of them before; he hadn't even realised there were that many. It looked like there was no end to them and they were everywhere. The young boy crouched down, covered his ears again, and tried to breath. It was all too much; bright sun shining on his face, loud noises and people everywhere. He couldn't breathe; the air he did manage to take in came in small gasps and he hunched in on himself the best he could.

It took the boy a while to bring himself back but he did; he crawled out of the dark that was blooming inside his mind. It took him a little longer to get his breathing back under control but he managed.

'This ain't bad as anything the White Coats have done,' he told himself. 'I can handle this.'

The experiment slowly looked over the edge again and forced his breathing to stay even. The sight of all those people, they were everywhere, still panicked him but he shoved it away. Thirteen could handle anything as long as he was free. He took one more moment to steady himself before walking along the roof. The boy was looking for a spot that, wasn't completely surrounded by people, he could climb down.

Thirteen finally found an area that didn't have anyone, some spot in between the buildings, and he crept down the wall. Once there he slowly moved to the end so he could peer out into the street. The idea of being that close to any of the people had him panicking again. Anyone of them could be a White Coat.

The young boy flinched when something large zoomed past; he didn't know what it was but the thing was fast and more kept coming. Thirteen didn't understand this new world; where people were everywhere, everything was loud and smelly, and they had monsters running around the city.

Still he couldn't stand there all day. The boy took a deep breath and edged out of the darkness; he very carefully stayed near the wall as he moved so that he could get away easily if needed. To his relief no one paid any attention to him; some looked at him but they turned their gaze away immediately.

Thirteen continued down the street and felt his stomach rumble as he smelled something delicious. His hunger had been forgotten in his panic but it returned now; he was feeling a little tired, even though he had slept a lot, and weak because of it. He kept moving, following his nose, until he came to a big green area. There were tall green things; he thought they might be trees; he dimly remembered trees from before the White Coats. Among the, possibly, trees were tables. Thirteen watched confused as a man walked up to one of the tables. He handed over, what looked like, paper and walked away with something. The boy continued to watch and everyone was using these pieces of paper. So if he wanted something he would either need paper or he would just have to take what he wanted. It wasn't a difficult decision to make; he had no desire to go anywhere near people but that still left him the problem of getting food. He couldn't just walk up, not that he wanted to, and he didn't know how to go about it without being seen.

"So you're new huh?"

Thirteen jumped and whirled around; standing near him was another boy. He was different from any other boy the experiment had seen. He was dark and heavy; his body was a little taller than Thirteen's and he was definitely bigger. He didn't look frightened or tired or in pain. The experiment had never seen a boy without those facial expressions. Was this what not experiments looked like outside?

The experiment stared at him warily and the boy shrugged.

"You've just been standing here for a bit staring at the food; you don't know how to steal yet?"

The other boy studied him for a moment and smiled when he heard Thirteen's stomach rumble.

"I'm Clint, want some help?"

Thirteen shook his head quickly and backed up a step. He wouldn't trust him.

" _Hey Fourteen."_

 _Thirteen watched as the boy looked up from where he had collapsed. He was new; had only been there a week and was still being looked at. The White Coats wanted to see what his limits were normally before they starting sticking needles in him. They were currently at the running circle and he had been forced to run for as long as he could before he fell._

 _Thirteen glanced over at where the White Coats were talking and writing notes. He quickly knelt beside the other boy. The experiment knew he didn't have long; it was his turn to run and he would have to start soon._

" _Look, I have a plan," he said quickly and quietly. "I'm getting out tonight and you should come."_

 _The boy had heard the White Coats talking about how they planned on making the two boys fight once Fourteen was strong enough and Thirteen didn't want that to happen; he wanted to help the other._

 _Fourteen stared at him for a moment before nodding._

" _Alright," he said quietly. "What do I do?"_

" _Just show up in the eating room tonight," Thirteen told him._

 _He quickly straightened up when the White Coats walked towards them. It was with nervous patience that he waited while two removed the sticky things from Fourteen and two more put some on himself. They removed his shirt to attach them to his stomach, chest, and neck. The sticky things itched but Thirteen resisted scratching them and was relieved when he finally got to run._

 _Running was one of Thirteen's favorite things to do. He felt like if he ran fast enough or long enough he could escape; he could out run the White Coats and their needles. So he ran for as long as possible; he ran until he couldn't breath and his legs wobbled before collapsing on him. The White Coats were talking excitedly and taking notes; some on paper and some in mid-air. Thirteen hadn't gotten tired of the glowing words and images that would appear in thin air while the White Coats worked. They were a welcome distraction; he could look at the colors and letters, and pretend he understood them as he tuned out the White Coat's words._

 _He was relieved when they finally removed the sticky things and he could go. His legs were already starting to feel better but he pretended they didn't. He wobbled his way out, dutifully following the White Coat, towards the eating room. The young boy then made a show of collapsing into his seat; he didn't have to fake his hunger though and he started eating immediately after the food was set down._

 _Thirteen waited as the White Coat unlocked the door to his room and then fell. Well, he pretended to fall; he was using his, faked, weak legs to his advantage. Thirteen staggered back upright, while the man quickly jotted down some notes, before going meekly into his room. He finally relaxed once the door was shut and pulled out his prize; the White Coat's piece of plastic. The boy had been incredibly nervous; he'd taken things before, managing to grab extra pieces of food, but he had never stolen from someone; he had done it though and he hadn't been caught._

 _Later that night, he unlocked his door and snuck into the eating room. He hoped Fourteen could make it; his room wouldn't be locked since the boy was new and weak which would make it easier for him to escape._

 _Thirteen waited in uneasy silence; something felt wrong. Suddenly something hit his back and he whirled around; standing behind him was a couple White Coats with Fourteen. One of them rested a hand on the boy's shoulders as Thirteen fell forward into the floor._

 _When the experiment opened his eyes again he was strapped to a table. Forcing himself to take deep breaths-_

' _Don't panic,' he ordered himself._

 _-he looked around._

" _He's regained consciousness," someone called out and a female White Coat moved to his side. She was one of the important ones and Thirteen hated her, he hated them all._

" _His recovery time has been getting faster," she commented. "We might have to increase his dosage."_

 _Thirteen forced himself to stay still; fighting would only make things worse. He flicked his eyes over the people and scowled when he saw Fourteen; the other boy was standing off to the side with his head bowed. The White Coat saw where he was looking and smiled._

" _You should thank Experiment Fourteen; you aren't ready for the world outside yet. He informed us of your plan and will be rewarded for his help."_

 _Thirteen kept his eyes on the other boy until he looked up and then he glared. His anger forced the other back and a White Coat led him away._

" _Administer the first dose," the Female White coat said and Thirteen's eyes flew to her._

 _He hated those words; they always meant pain. He felt the needle go into his arm and then fire started racing through his body. The boy couldn't help but scream; he felt a desperate urge to let the fire escape him, let it spill from his mouth to burn the others. All he could do was pant, and his body wouldn't move when the fire died down. His ears were buzzing but he could hear the White Coats in the distance talking about increasing his dosage._

 _Thirteen knew, as they pushed another needle into his arm, that this was Fourteen's fault. He felt like he would throw up and felt a small sense of happiness when he did so on a White Coat's arm. His body went cold, then hot while he puked again and he knew he should never have trusted the other experiment. He couldn't trust anyone._

He couldn't trust him.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," the brown haired kid said and Thirteen actually snorted.

Yeah right. He turned and ran; he didn't need help, not from anyone.

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So? What do you guys think? Is Clint okay? I only know him from the Avenger movies and reading other fanfiction? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading/reviewing.


	3. Chapter 3

Thirteen sat on the edge of the roof and dangled his legs over the edge. He didn't feel safe on the ground anymore; not after the boy. His stomach had stopped growling at him which was good; though there was still an ache that refused to go away. The Experiment was used to that though; sometimes the White Coats starved him. He got up from his perch and started following people from above. He had learned quickly that normal people hardly ever looked up; most of them just seemed focused on where they were going.

There was an area with buildings he hadn't seen; not surprising considering how much of the city he knew. All the noises and smells still had him on edge but the stuff in this area smelled good.

People were going into the buildings and sitting at tables. Thirteen watched as those people got food and continued to watch, fascinated, as the people handed over more green paper before leaving. Some didn't even use the paper but something that was harder for him to see. It looked like small pieces of cardboard. This whole new world was so different from what he was used to and he couldn't understand any of it.

The boy circled one of the buildings and frowned when he noticed a green box. As he watched someone came and put something in it. Thirteen hesitated for a moment before crawling down the wall to look. There was a good smell coming from the box so he opened the lid and peaked in. Inside was a bunch of different things; some smelled, and looked, gross but there was some stuff at the top that looked pretty good. It reminded him of a garbage can. They had smaller ones at The Building; he'd sneak food out of it occasionally. He had even gotten an apple core once.

Thirteen stood there for a moment indecisively. What if a was a trap? The White Coats had drugged his food before after all.

 _Thirteen stared at the food in front of him and then looked at the White Coats. Why would they give him something so good? It looked like chicken; actual chicken and there was even a potato. He didn't understand._

" _Eat the food already," one of them snapped. "Or I'll give it to Experiment Twelve. The boy quickly dragged the food towards him upon hearing that. The food was too good to pass up. He had finished the plate and sat nervously while the White Coats watched him. He was just starting to wonder if it had been a test when he started to feel sick; a mix of wanting to throw up and fall asleep. One of the White Coats noticed and pulled out a watch and notepad._

" _He lasted twice as long as Experiment Twelve," she commented. "And he's still awake too. Next time we should up the dosage. Keep an eye on him," she ordered one of the others as Thirteen's eyes started to close. "I want to know exactly how long he is out for."_

'No one knew I was up there,' he told himself nervously before reaching in.

He didn't know what most of the stuff was but he recognized some chicken; there was some fuzzy stuff on top but he still reached in and grabbed it. Beside the chicken was, what looked like, a banana. It had some weird sauce on it but he pulled it out anyway. Two seconds later he darted away from the big trash can just as something big hit it.

A man entered his view and Thirteen stared. He was big and angry. Both of those things sent waves of fear through the boy.

"This is my area," the man snarled at him and smashed his hand on the trash can making the boy jump. "Stay the fuck away."

Thirteen nodded his head quickly.

"You come back here again and I'll kill you."

That was all the experiment needed to hear and he ran. The moment he rounded the corner he stuck the chicken in his mouth, dropped the banana, so he had free hands and climbed the wall.

His whole body was shaking in fear and he fell to lay on the roof for a second as he dropped the food in front of him.

 _Thirteen was being dragged. He didn't know where they were taking him this time but he knew he didn't want to go. He looked at the White Coat that was pulling him and lunged forward to sink his teeth into the man's arm. There was a loud noise of pain and the grip on him loosened. The boy took the chance to break free._

 _He made it two steps before there was a jarring sensation and his arm was grabbed again._

" _Fuck," the White Coat snarled. "You little shit."_

 _He drew Thirteen's arm back and the boy yelped in pain. The White Coat then threw the boy to the ground and placed his foot on the limb._

" _This is what happens when you fight back," he said and pressed down._

 _Thirteen felt something snap in his arm and he screamed._

" _You're lucky we need you," he was told before he got yanked to his feet by the hurting limb making him whimper. "Or I'd kill you for that."_

 _There was something wrong now; Thirteen didn't know what but his arm hurt. Something was moving under his skin that shouldn't be moving. Every step they took, every yank on his arm, sent a spike of pain through it. The boy bit his tongue in an effort to keep from crying but he could still feel water in his eyes._

The boy sat back up again with a shaky breath and ran his fingers over his arm. That had been the first time they had broken a bone but it hadn't been the last. According to them he had healed faster than a normal kid. They had been even more excited that he had healed faster than an average adult as well. There had been more tests after that.

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AN: Hey everyone. I hope you enjoy this new chapter of Free. Let me know if notice any suggestions; I love when people tell me things they would like to see or ask me questions.


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